In-Cab Winch Control Install

[ntsqd]

Sure, you can fabricate your own in-cab winch control for less than $30, but will you?

I wanted an in-cab control for my Warn 8274 for quite some time, but never seemed to get around to it. Also, I had reservations about switches on the dash - what do you do when you need both hands on the wheel or one hand on the wheel and the other on the shifter and/or emergency brake release?

My solution was to take my old winch controller with a frayed cable, cut the cable about 3' from the controller, and connect it to a 4-pin round male trailer plug. I mounted the 4-pin round trailer socket in the front of my Tuffy console along with a mil-spec power on-off switch. The modified controller stays in the console when not in use (or connected and in my lap or stuffed under the seat in between pulls on tough trails). I bought a replacement winch controller and stored it in my "recovery bag" for those times that I want to control the winch from outside my rig.

This won't work for everyone, but I needed a new winch controller anyway.

Something along these lines would be my own preference. It's roughly how I wired the dune buggy. Oddly though, I ended up building the whole remote. Cost less than a new one from one of the winch mfg's. Would not have gone that way had I not stumbled onto a remote control pendant for a marine autopilot.

 

[flyingwil]

Looks good Jamie! On a side note can you PM me some info on the Scion Head unit you have if you have time?

 

[SAR_Squid79]

Just noticed...did you forget a screw on that right side? Hole but no screw.

I just can't get over how clean and sano that looks.

"That little guy? I wouldn't worry about that little guy."

That hole was a mismeasured mistake on my part. I wanted a 2nd mounting screw, but almost drilled into the switch itself.
You really only need 1 screw to hold the unit in place. I may just glue a screw head over the hole so I never have to answer that question again.

 

[big sky trapper]

Someone else found that company...great little tool. I did the same on my old toyota, and after wards often wondered how i ever lived without it....

 

[The BN Guy]

Hahaha! That's a crazy shot. Not a self-portrait?

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I paid exactly $10 for a pair of switches for the same functionality at an RV shop. Still need to get the wiring. So, $30 ain't bad, but I like the look of my switches better.

Anyway, nice install, thanks for posting the details of the wiring, as I'll be doing an EP9.0.

 

[psychohawk]

Wow, 12voltguy sells one that is more expensive?

The parts could be something like:

• Illuminated SPST:
  Lumex CLS-RC11A125190R, Digikey 67-1917-ND, $3.21
  http://www.lumex.com/pdf/CLS-RC11A125191R.pdf
  
• Non-illuminated DPDT on-off-on:
  Shin Chin R13-25E1-05, Mouser 112-R13-25E1, $5.62
  http://www.mouser.com/catalog/specsheets/SC-500006.pdf

Add in a little piece of plastic or aluminum for a face plate, a handful of terminals and some wire and you gotcha your winch controller. I'll admit that it takes time to make them, but couldn't be more than 30 minutes worth of work.

$30 is cheap ... ~$10 for parts, another buck or two for the faceplate (batches of 100 maybe?), leaves the seller $18 for assembly and profit. Pay a kid to assemble them at $8/hr, gives you a loaded hourly wage of about $12, pay the kid $6 (half hour assembly as you stated) ... leaves the business a gross profit of $12/unit. Of the $12/unit, overhead needs to be paid (rent/utilities/tools/advertising, etc); also, somewhere along the way the seller researched and documented instructions and probably wants to be paid for that, not to mention boxing and packaging for shipment.

While $12/unit might seem a tidy gross profit, I doubt these are running off the shelf in the thousands or made in China, and it's probably very reasonable.

Just random thoughts from a small business owner--having nothing to do with this particular company or even the off road field--yes, you could certainly make it cheaper yourself, but I hope your time is worth more than $20 for a couple hours work (research / thought / gathering parts / making faceplate, etc.) I know my time is!

By the way, that'll be $20 for this post!

 

[ntsqd]

Grandad always told me that when I'm working for myself I'm working for free.

Anyway, were I going to build something like that I'd use this switch. $14.13 each.

Use this Guard. $5.28 each.If you want to be anal about locking out accidental operation then drill a second hole in the guard & insert 2 pins or clips.

While I understand the use of the "arming" switch, I do not like the concept. Secure the directional switch and you've eliminated one failure mode.

 

[adventureduo]

Just installed my roadlessgear controller. Mine spooled in backwards of what the switch said too. I think the guy that makes the schematic for the thing is dyslexic. I just spun the switch around.

 

[rickc]

Agreed $30 is not a killer but for maximum practicality, I'd spend $110 and get a wireless remote from WARN. Winching is dangerous and being able to stand wherever you want or sit/drive with a remote sound like a really good idea to me. Also no holes cut in the truck and transferable to the next truck.

If I was going to do a similar route as shown, I would buy the switches separately and include an appropriate fuse in the circuit - easy to do by using a fused switch. I'd also use backlit switches.

 

[Antichrist]

[*]Non-illuminated DPDT on-off-on:
Shin Chin R13-25E1-05, Mouser 112-R13-25E1, $5.62
http://www.mouser.com/catalog/specsheets/SC-500006.pdf
[/list]

You'd want a MOM ON-OFF-MOM ON (ok, no MILF jokes). I think the one illustrated in just ON-OFF-ON.

but I hope your time is worth more than $20 for a couple hours work (research / thought / gathering parts / making faceplate, etc.)

Well, I know my thoughts aren't usually worth a plugged nickel.

 

[michaelgroves]

While I understand the use of the "arming" switch, I do not like the concept. Secure the directional switch and you've eliminated one failure mode.

What failure mode? I have to say the pins/clips in the guard seem more fiddly than an arming switch. At $30, I'd expect that switch-set to be bullet-proof, btw. (OK, "want", not "expect"!)

 

[madizell]

I agree. I would put it the other way around -- use an arming switch and you have eliminated one mode of catastrophic failure by taking power away from the activating switch. If that switch activated for any reason whatever while you were driving, the chances are you would never notice it until you wrapped half your cable around an axle, or pulled your winch into two parts. An arming switch is a safety device, not a gimmick.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I can't see how it could possibly be a failure mode. The odds are pretty low the switch would fail, and it could be bypassed in-situ if needed. And we're all still carrying our remotes anyway, right?

The benefits far outweigh the risks.

 

[madizell]

If the remote controller is always hot, all it takes is an erroneous signal to trigger the winch. This can happen by bumping the switch, having someone in your vehicle bump the switch (pets, blonds, or whatever), something behind the dash contacting switch posts, the wiring anywhere in the circuit shorting or crossing providing power when not wanted. Since the winch itself is hot-wired, having the controls also constantly hot is a safety issue.

"Failure" in this context is not the inability of the winch to function, but inappropriate activation of the winch. Using an arming switch in circuit is functionally the same as disconnecting the stock controller. I suppose the stock contacts in the solenoid block could be shorted as well, but having it happen accidentally is very unlikely. So, the argument is only one of perspective. I use an arming switch at both remote locations because I have, more often than I like to admit, accidentally bumped the control switches.